[Jeju Update] Witness by a Villager on Jan. 18

* Please send the sign (name, organization if any, city, state, country) against the Jeju naval base to Bruce Gagnon (globalnet@mindspring.com)!

* Please keep sending the solidarity messages (More than 50 messages have been flooding into and those will be informed later) to the Gangjeong people who are very encouraged by your strong support! (via globalnet@mindspring.com or armha5156@gmail.com)

* Please press the South Korean government and the South Korean embassies to protest against the unjust oppression of the people who want to keep their village from another missile OFFENSE system. (webmaster@pmo.go.kr, www.pmo.go.kr, Tel: 82-2-2100-2114)

* And please protest against the oppression of the people’s media on the struggle against the Jeju naval base (See the below)!

Update (Just In): After hours later of uploading the message on the blacked video, I found, the videos are back. See HERE. Do the National Intelligence Service and the South Korea Defense Department wiretap my emails? I have sent some people that the videos were blacked out yesterday. It is really funny if it is true that they saw the emails and returned back the video, then.

Click for the larger view
* Image and caption provided by a same informant. The caption was translated.
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*The below information translated and photos(except for the last one) have been thankfully sent by a Gangjeong villager who had witnessed the police/navy raid on the village and the police arrest of the protesting village people & the mayor on Jan. 18, 2010. It is put here for the purpose of the compensation on Jan. 18 blog and to inform in detail what really happened in that morning. The government institutions have surreptitiously oppressed the people’s media on Jan.18. All the videos & photos on Jan. 18, uploaded in the domestic websites/ blogs, by the people (not press), have been secretly removed (*see the blacked-out video, moving mouse down) by the invisible hands of the government(s). It horrible happened even in the overseas sites that loaded the media. It is concerned people’s responsibility and right to inform and spread the news, regarding the issues of the oppression of the people by the state power and of the important struggles against another missile defense system in the Asia Pacific.
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Summary of the Situation
사건 개요

By a Gangjeong Villager 강정 주민

▶ The police chief in the Jeju Island had the emergency call to all the police units in the Island area at 2am on Jan. 18, and deployed them near Gangjeong stream.

▶ 제주지방 경찰청장은 1월18일 새벽 2시 제주지역 경찰병력을 총 비상소집 하여 강정천 인근에 배치하였음.

* People are putting barricade by burning the vinyl in their desperate need,
confronting the expected police violence.

▶ The first introjections of the police unit happened around 5:30am in the dawn. The police arrested the three village people who were protesting against the forceful hauling of the cars [the villagers had set up as the barricade to block the navy and police entering into the planned area for the construction of the site for the Feb. 5 ceremony on the starting work on the naval base].

▶ 첫 병력투입 - 새벽 5시 30분경 차량 강제 견인에 항의하는 주민 3명 연행

▶ The forceful arrest of the village people, one by one started around 7:30am

▶ 아침 7시30분경부터 주민들 한명씩 강제연행 시작



▶ The mayor was forcefully arrested around 8:20am.
- After the arrest of about 40 village people who had been in sit-in protest, the police moved into the planned area and became to confront the mayor and several village people. (photos in the top above)

▶ 아침 8시20분경 마을회장 강제 연행
- 앉아 있는 주민 40여명 연행 후 경찰병력은 부지 안쪽으로 이동하여 마을회장 및 주민 몇사람과 대치하게 됨.

▶ At the time, since the fire was burnt-up [from the vinyl] behind the mayor , the mayor said people may be wound if the police came nearer, and the police units seemed to a little withdraw back after his words. However, after the police went for the operation meeting for a short time, the police began to push toward the mayor, and a prepared policeman suddenly thrust the mayor’s back behind him, as to his wound. At the moment when the mayor was falling down toward the police units, several policemen arrested the mayor and the police said that they thrust the mayor for the reason of his safety. However, drawing from the former situation, the policeman arrested him by operation.

▶ 이 때 마을회장 뒤편에서는 불이타고 있었기에 더가까이오면 사람이 다친다고 말하고 다치면 책임 질 것이냐며 말하여 처음은 병력이 뒤로 물러서는 듯 하였으나 잠시 4명의 경찰들이 작전회의로 후 경찰병력은 마을회장쪽으로 밀어붙이기 시작하였으며 준비한 한 경찰관이 갑자기 불 타는 뒤에서 다칠 정도로 마을회장 등쪽을 밀어 마을회장은 경찰병력 앞으로 넘어질려는 순간 몇 명의 경찰관이 마을회장을 체포하였으며 이때 경찰들은 신변상 안전의 이유로 마을회장을 밀었다고 함. 그러나 앞서 정황으로 경찰은 작전적으로 체포하였음.

* Image source: Seogwipo Daily News paper